Craig-Marco Friendship
The friendship between Craig Manning and Marco Del Rossi began in the second season of Degrassi: The Next Generation. Friendship History Overview This friendship began in early Season 2, shortly after they began Degrassi Community School as Grade 9 students, and they became best friends as the series progressed. Both Craig and Marco were in a band called Downtown Sasquatch that also had Jimmy Brooks, Spinner Mason (who later was out of the band in season 5) and then had Ellie Nash. Craig and Marco were the only people to be members of the band throughout its entire existence. Their friendship lasted for a long time, even after Craig left for Vancouver. Marco was extremely angry when Craig used Ellie in an attempt to continue his drug habit, which caused a strain in their friendship. However, they later reconciled. Season 2 The two first interacted in Drive, when Craig invited Spinner, Sean, Jimmy, and Marco to his house for the weekend while Joey Jeremiah was away. Marco had seemingly been to Craig's house at least once before this as he had already met Joey. When Craig told Marco, Jimmy and Sean that he liked them, Sean asked if he was going to kiss them and Marco told him to shut up, foreshadowing his struggles with his sexuality and eventual realisation that he was gay. In How Soon is Now?, Craig overheard Marco telling Ellie that he trusted her and said, "Your love brings tears to my eyes." Marco responded, "Just wish everyone could be so lucky" before kissing Ellie's hand. In Tears Are Not Enough (2), when Mr Simpson told his Grade 9 homeroom class that Craig's father Albert Manning had been killed in a car crash over the weekend, Marco asked him if Craig was alright. Mr Simpson assured him that he was. Like everyone else, Marco was shocked when Craig came to school that day. He told Jimmy that he was amazed that he was taking his father's death so well. He and Jimmy expressed their condolences. After Craig made a joke about it, both Marco and Jimmy were concerned. Season 3 The two, along with Jimmy and Spinner, formed a band later called Downtown Sasquatch in U Got The Look. In Pride (1), Craig saw that Marco was wearing a Toronto Maple Leaps jersey and, since he knew that he had no interest in hockey, jokingly asked him if he had gotten too much sun on the weekend. When Spinner asked Marco what he thought of Andropov's trade to the Redskins and Marco said that it was a great as his skating skills would really help the team, Craig laughed. An annoyed Spinner said, "Redskins are football. You have no idea what you're talking about" before storming off. Craig, surprised at the strength of Spinner's reaction, said, "Oh-kay." The day after Marco came out to Spinner in Pride (2), Marco and Ellie heard Craig say to Jimmy, "Alright, Spin asked us to keep it a secret until he’s thought about it more, so you can’t tell anybody, alright?" Marco and Ellie were both concerned that Spinner had told them that he was gay and were relieved to learn from Jimmy that he and Craig had been talking about the fact that Spinner was planning a surprise party for Paige Michalchuk's 16th birthday in several weeks. Marco gave Craig and Jimmy a hug and told them that he would take the secret to his grave. Both Craig and Jimmy were confused. Later that day, Paige's brother Dylan Michalchuk gave Craig, Jimmy and Spinner four tickets for his hockey game that night and told them that one of them was for Marco. When Craig and Jimmy expressed their excitement for their boys' night, Spinner asked, "Could you two be bigger fags?" He then told them that Marco was not coming as he "doing some gay artsy thing with Ellie." During gym class, Jimmy and Craig expressed their regret to Marco that he would not be joining them, which upset Marco greatly as Spinner was deliberately excluding him. While Jimmy learned about Marco's sexuality from Spinner's homophobic graffiti "Marco is a fag" in the boys' bathroom, it is unclear when exactly Craig found out. In Should I Stay or Should I Go?, Craig followed Marco's advice to express his feelings to Ashley but instead of telling Ashley that he loved her, he sent her a dozen roses with the message "You Rock!" After Ashley told Craig that they should take a break, he confided in Marco. Unlike Spinner at the time, Craig appeared to have no problem with Marco being gay. In Rock and Roll High School, Marco helped Craig to think of lyrics to perform during the band contest. They both disapproved of Jimmy and Spinner's abusive, sexist rap about Craig's ex-girlfriend Ashley. Season 4 In Ghost in the Machine (1), Marco decorated Craig's locker with balloons and streamers for his 16th birthday. Craig put his arm around his best friend's shoulders and, given his own lack of success with girls, he half-jokingly asked Marco if he was dating anyone. In King of Pain, Craig supported Marco's campaign to become Student Council President against Alex Nuñez, whom he described as "most likely to succeed in killing someone." He signed Marco's nomination form and half-jokingly asked him if he needed any cash for his campaign. In Anywhere I Lay My Head, Craig, Marco and the rest of Downtown Sasquatch performed together at the Spirit Squad car wash. In Craig's words, they "sucked" but Ashley assured him that no one noticed. In Islands in the Stream, Craig, Marco, Spinner and Jimmy went to see the Bollywood film Salvador Kovack at the cinema at Marco's suggestion. Both Craig and Marco disapproved of the condescending manner in which Spinner treated Paige, who had on her first shift at the concession stand. Craig scolded him with the sarcastic comment "Nice" before they watched the film. Craig described it as "surreal" but Marco said that it would have been surreal if Salvador had been played by a goat. After Jimmy was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Rick Murray in Time Stands Still (2), Craig and Marco were especially supportive during his recovery. When Ashley became increasingly involved in Downtown Sasquatch after Jimmy was shot by Rick Murray in Neutron Dance, Spinner objected to her continued presence at rehearsals when she was not an official member of the band. Marco initially believed that Spinner was making too big a deal out of it but realised that he was right when Craig and Ashley completely dominated an interview with Liberty Van Zandt for the Degrassi Grapevine and did not give either of them a chance to speak. Marco and Spinner then issued an ultimatum to Craig: either they went or Ashley went. Craig attempted to tell Ashley that she was out of the band but he instead kissed. Later that day at the Dot, Craig excitedly told Marco and Spinner that they were back together but they stormed out as he failed to kick out of the band as he had promised. Craig asked Marco to cut him some slack but Marco refused to do so. At their next rehearsal, Marco brought an accordion, angrily telling Craig that it was every man for himself in the band. This, coupled with the fact that Spinner had brought Manny into the band to play the tambourine, forced Craig's hand and he reluctantly told Ashley that she was out of the band before the session in the recording studio. However, while singing "Everything's Dust" which he had written for Ashley to apologise for cheating on her with Manny, Craig realised that Ashley meant more to him than the band and went after her. They kissed and resumed their relationship. In Voices Carry (1), Marco and Spinner played the demo that they recorded after Craig left featuring Marco's dreadful singing voice. Marco believed that it represented Downtown Sasquatch's first and last single and blamed Craig. Spinner opened his bag and dumped numerous copies of the CD at Craig's feet while Marco ejected the copy in the tape recorder and threw it at Craig. While experiencing a euphoric high as a result of his bipolar disorder in Voices Carry (2), Craig called Marco for fashion help. Marco was still annoyed with Craig for ruining the band's chance at success but told him that he came because Craig sounded desperate. Craig told Marco that he needed help picking out a suit for Ashley's father Robert Kerwin's wedding to his boyfriend Christopher. After their shopping spree, Craig and Marco met the latter's boyfriend Dylan Michalchuk and, before leaving, Craig told them that he was glad that gay people could get married. In Secret (2), Jimmy was anxious to return home after being in hospital for several months and was looking forward to seeing a Kid Elrick concert with Craig and Marco. However, his father Jermaine Brooks told him that the house would not be ready for another week and that he would have to stay in hospital for the time being. Not willing to accept this, Jimmy convinced Craig and Marco to break him out of the hospital the next day so that they could go and see the concert together. Jimmy and Marco wore black hoodies for their escape while Craig entered the hospital wearing a fedora and trenchcoat. Craig distracted the nurse on duty by continually asking for a fictional German doctor and then pretended to be extremely ill and, when the nurse left to get him help, he, Jimmy and Marco made their escape. While it was difficult for Jimmy to navigate his way around the club where Kid Elrick was performing, he did extremely well and he and his two friends were in the front row for the entire concert. When Craig and Marco sneaked Jimmy back into the hospital that night, they found his father there waiting for him. Jimmy convinced him that he was ready to come home but that his father need to be ready. Mr Brooks agreed to collect Jimmy the next morning and bring him home. In Eye of the Tiger, Craig and Marco were among the many students present to greet Jimmy at the front of Degrassi when he returned to school after three months in the hospital. The next day, after it became common knowledge that Spinner was responsible for dumping the paint on Rick, they confronted him. Craig told him to stay away from Jimmy while Marco told him that he was no longer invited to Jimmy's welcome back party at Craig's house. However, after getting drunk with Jay Hogart, Spinner showed up anyway. Craig angrily told him to leave. Spinner begged for forgiveness but Jimmy ignored him, telling Craig to continue playing karaoke as they had been doing before Spinner arrived. Spinner left but Marco saw that he took his keys with him and realised that he was going to try and kill himself. He and Craig attempted to stop Spinner from driving away but Jimmy moved himself in front of the car. He told Jimmy that he was not going to stop him as he was dead to him already. Craig then confiscated Spinner's keys. In Queen of Hearts, Craig, Ellie, Marco, Jimmy and Alex played Euchre outside Degrassi. Ellie told them that her pet ferret Bueller Nash-Cameron had died and Craig and Marco both sympathised with her. The next day, Craig made fun of Marco by saying that his big hair made him look like Ashley. Marco explained that he ran out of hair gel. In Moonlight Desires, Craig helped Marco to organise the blood drive at Degrassi by packing the blood bags. Craig was extremely angry that Marco was refused permission to donate blood because he was gay and had sex with Dylan. After Marco discovered that Dylan was seeing other people, Craig suggested that they get him back at the party that he was holding that night. At the party, Marco discussed his relationship problems with Craig. In an effort to cheer Marco up, Craig told him that he was a great guy and the most honest, down-to-earth and nicest person that he knew. He joked that he was a little short but that added to the cuteness to which he would be attracted if Marco were a girl or he were gay. Marco thanked him for telling him what he wanted to hear and that he appreciated it but if he really wanted to help, Craig should call him an idiot. Craig did so and Marco told him that he had no idea what to do. When Dylan arrived on the stairwell where they were sitting, Marco grabbed Craig and kissed him in order to make Dylan jealous. The kiss weirded Craig out. He said, "So, when in doubt you kiss Craig?!" Marco told him that he needed to settle the situation with Dylan and Craig responded, "Yeah, you do! You really, really do!" After he and Dylan broke up, Marco began to cry and walked past a concerned looking Craig. Season 5 On the first day of their senior year at Degrassi in Venus (1), Marco told Ellie that it was Craig's 17th birthday the next day. After Craig found out that Ellie knew that Ashley had broken up with him but kept it to herself, Marco told Craig not to shoot the messenger. After discovering that he was the last person to know, Craig said, "Screw you" to Ellie and left in a rage. Ellie was very hurt by his unkind words. Marco realised that she had feelings for Craig, which she denied. He comforted Craig after he found out. Marco thought that he may have seen it coming. In Venus (2), after Craig and Ellie's argument, Marco attempted to get them to talk each other but neither of them were receptive to his efforts. However, they later sorted it out on their own. In Weddings, Parties, Anything, Marco asked Craig what they happened with Ellie after he and Jimmy had left them alone in the garage after Downtown Sasquatch had finished rehearsing the previous night. Craig told him that he gave her a drumming lesson and they watched a DVD. He said that 90% of his troubles in life were caused by girls and, as such, he intended to be a monk for the year, focussing on nothing other than school and the band. After the band was hired to perform at a wedding, they went to the Dot to celebrate but Marco and Jimmy left so that Craig could be alone. The next day at the mall, Marco, describing himself as Craig's "best friend in the whole world," asked him how the date went. Craig said that he thought that Ellie was Marco's best friend and denied that it was a date as "monks don't date." He claimed that it was just friends hanging out and mentioned that Manny had joined them. Marco said, "Cue the romantic train wreck." They then met Joey in the pharmacy where, to their amusement, he was buying condoms in preparation for his upcoming date with Diane. Joey was extremely embarrassed. Before the gig, Craig confided in Marco that he found both Ellie and Manny attractive and had no idea what to do. During the performance, Craig invited Manny on stage to play the tambourine and Ellie became so angry that she threw one of her drumsticks at Manny's head. When Manny accused her of it, Ellie remarked that she was surprised that she could even feel it through all her hairspray. After Ellie stormed out, Craig asked Marco what he should do and he said, "I'm actually too busy enjoying not being you." In I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Craig and Marco were both disappointed with Jimmy's decision to leave the band in order to try out for a wheelchair basketball team but they accepted it. In Tell It to My Heart, Craig played Claudius in Degrassi's production of Act V, Scene I of Hamlet at the City Drama Festival, which the school was hosting, while Marco played the title character. Marco was nervous and Craig jokingly said that it was not as if he were playing the lead and the school's hopes of winning the festival were riding on him. Later, while they were rehearsing their lines, Craig and Marco saw a gay student named Tim being pushed into a locker. Craig was going to confront the boy who did it but Marco stopped him. Several days later, during the performance, Marco interrupted himself and came out to his father Mr. Del Rossi in front of the entire school. Like everyone else, Craig was shocked. In The Lexicon of Love (1), Craig and Marco were very excited about the Toronto premiere of Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, in which Manny appeared and for which Craig wrote a song. They hired a stretch limo for the occasion for themselves, Manny and Hazel. Before Media Immersion class, Craig and Marco excitedly discussed who they thought would be at the premiere, including Alanis Morissette. In Together Forever, Craig failed his history presentation on World War I due to his lack of preparedness in spite of Ellie's attempts to help him in class. At the Dot, Marco worried that this would affect Craig's chances of getting into university but Craig told him to relax as their grades had already been submitted. In any event, he was not terribly interested in going in the first place. At the Northern Sound Showcase, a record producer named Leo Davies was impressed by Craig's vocals but claimed that the band's sound was a little rough. In spite of this, he offered to manage Downtown Sasquatch and Craig accepted immediately. At the photoshoot the next day, Leo placed Craig in the foreground with Marco, Ellie and Jimmy in the background. Craig told him that he was "kind of about the band" but Leo said that now the band was all about him. At the Dot the next day, Leo told the band that the Showcase had asked them to return for another performance and, if they won, they would fly out to Vancouver at the weekend to record their material. Marco pointed out that they had exams and essays to do and missing them would screw up their year but Leo said that the band was more important. Ellie convinced Craig to try out for the Showcase for the second time without the band and he won recording time in Vancouver. Before he left, Marco gave him a hug. In I Against I, Marco mentioned to Spinner that Craig was in Vancouver pursuing fame and fortune. As Ellie, Jimmy, Paige and Alex were all busy, Marco was lonely and he became friends with Spinner again. Season 6 In Here Comes Your Man (1), Marco told Paige that he felt that his life was changing faster than he could handle. He singled out Craig's departure as one of the reasons for this and clearly missed him. In What's It Feel Like To Be a Ghost? (1), Craig stays at Marco and Ellie's house. Craig plays a few songs for all of his old friends, including Jimmy, Ellie, Spinner, Marco's boyfriend Dylan, and an unhappy Manny. Later, Marco attends Craig's acoustic performance. Later, Craig eats dinner with Marco and their friends. Season 7 In It's Tricky, one of the songs on Craig's album was entitled "Kissing in the Stairwell," a reference to when Marco kissed him to make Dylan jealous in Moonlight Desires. Season 8 In Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Marco told Ellie that he still hadn't forgiven Craig for what Craig previously did to her (using her to try and continue his drug use) when Ellie told Marco she will be staying with him. Later, Craig showed up at Paige's party to try and talk to Ellie but Marco stopped him because he had already upset her enough. When Ellie ran away crying, Craig and Marco looked for her and found her on the beach. They saved Ellie from drowning herself in the ocean. Marco told Craig that Ellie's father Colonel Nash was in hospital as he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Marco was grateful that Craig had helped him to rescue Ellie. When Craig told him that he would stay with Ellie, Marco thanked him and they hugged, having seemingly repaired their somewhat strained friendship. Trivia *They were both best friends with Ellie Nash. They both kissed her - Marco in Careless Whisper and Don't Stop Believin' and Craig in What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? (2) and Degrassi Goes Hollywood - but only Marco dated her. *They both saved Ellie from drowning herself in Degrassi Goes Hollywood. *They were both good friends with Jimmy Brooks, Spinner Mason and Paige Michalchuk. *Marco and Craig are the first set of guy friends where one friend who is gay kissed his straight friend. *They were both in the band Downtown Sasquatch for its entire run. *Like Jimmy, Craig never had any problem with the fact that Marco was gay. *Each was often the other's first port of call for advice on relationships. *They were both big fans of Kid Elrick. *They were both introduced in Season 2: Craig in When Doves Cry (1) and Marco in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. *Although Marco is Craig's best male friend, it is unclear whether or not he ever told him that he was bipolar. Quotes *Craig: "So when in doubt you kiss Craig?!" Marco: "I gotta settle this with Dylan." Craig: "Yeah, you do! You, you really, really do!" - Moonlight Desires *Craig: "It wasn't a date. Monks don't date. It was friends just hanging out. Matter of fact, my other friend Manny joined us." Marco: "Cue the romantic train wreck." - Weddings, Parties, Anything *Craig: "Why? Why must they be so hot?" Marco: "Uh, you're not supposed to find your friends hot." Craig: "It's not my fault! I'm not the one who showed up looking like that." Marco: "What? You said you were going to be a monk." Craig: "The monk is tired of the monastery, okay? The monastic life just wasn't for him, and now I have no idea what to do." - Weddings, Parties, Anything Gallery Sbfddvgsd.jpg 1118 1.jpg Dgh+10.jpg 062410degrassiboys.jpg 1110 1.jpg 1106 1.jpg Take a chance, it's not romance.jpg 09-1.jpg 1076 1.jpg Tumblr lnz9ymwEOD1qc1tpr.jpg ffyr0001.jpg Tumblr l5u8dqH9HT1qc1tpr.jpg Tumblr ls5paklyhB1qc1tpr.jpg JACO.jpg JARCO.jpg Jarfsd.jpg 640px-Degrassi 100% intensee.jpg Tumblr lon6ts1EzT1qc1tpr.jpg Tumblr lon6phkKl01qc1tpr (1).jpg Tumblr lon5zutYAU1qc1tpr.jpg Tumblr lf4q54mDCt1qc1tpr.jpg 5165p+Sm03L. SX500 .jpg Normal cap0019.jpg Tumblr mcrg29W5iT1r5uoxco1 500.jpg tumblr_mdl8t9dfBL1r5uoxco1_500.jpg 90iou.png 809uio.png 89u8i.png 898uio.png 5645tr.png 353f.png 353re.png Tumblr ltnigtyEd41qc1tpr.jpg Tumblr ltniga5MSg1qc1tpr.jpg tumblr_l7l1wktFvH1qc1tpr.jpg Tumblr mg277pvI3z1r5uoxco1 500.jpg Carco.png Normal cap2592.JPG Normal cap2602.JPG Neutron-dance-10.jpg 454332.png Tumblr l4eich89ka1qc585qo1 500.jpg Moonlight-desires-2.jpg Moonlight-desires-3.jpg Moonlight-desires-6.jpg Moonlight-desires-8.jpg Normal cap008Weddings, Parties, Anything0.jpg Normal cap00Weddings, Parties, Anything87.jpg Normal cap008Weddings, Parties, Anything3.jpg Normal Weddings, Parties, Anythingcap0088.jpg NorWeddings, Parties, Anythingmal cap0113.jpg NorWeddings, Parties, Anythingmal cap0061.jpg 53333.PNG 5559.PNG Normal 2221 1.jpg Normal 2247 1.jpg Normal degrassi-next-generation06.jpg Normal craig season5 012.jpg Normal craig season5 015.jpg Tell-it-to-my-heart-7.jpg Category:Degrassi: The Next Generation Category:Friendships Category:Interactions Category:Season 2 Category:Season 3 Category:Season 4 Category:Season 5 Category:Season 6 Category:Season 8 Category:Conflicts